Behind the Wheel: Holiday plunge in gas prices continues

Friday

Nov 30, 2018 at 5:35 PMNov 30, 2018 at 5:35 PM

Also: The state Transportation Department has several projects lined up for the Cape Fear region

Gasoline prices in North Carolina continue to plunge.

Behind the Wheel belongs to B.J.’s club, in part because of its typically low gas prices. But we had to fill up in a pinch one cold evening at a BP station on Robeson Street, and were pure-tee shocked to note the price for a gallon of regular was $2.09.

We wondered, can we be headed toward sub-$2 gas?

OK, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

But for sure, the trendlines look good, according to AAA Carolinas, which tracks prices. The auto club reports that North Carolina’s average price of $2.43 has not been that low since March. The lowest price of the year was $2.36, in January, AAA reports.

We might be headed for that territory again.

“Carolinians are getting an early holiday gift in the form of cheaper gas prices,” said Tiffany Wright, AAA Carolinas spokeswoman, speaking of prices in North and South Carolina. “Prices are likely to continue to drop slightly and remain low as we continue to use winter-blend gasoline.

“This is the time of year when motorists can expect to see fluctuating prices at gas stations as retailers compete during the winter-driving season, when demand is typically low.”

As for Fayetteville, the low price leader as of Thursday was the BP (station 57345) at Natal Street and Camden Road, which was charging $2.05 a gallon, according to Gas Buddy. Several other stations had prices ranging from $2.06 to $2.09.

With holiday budgets stretched thin, or fixin’ to be stretched thin, gasoline prices could not have picked a better time to head south.

Busy DOT

The N.C. Department of Transportation is planning or is in the middle of several projects affecting the Cape Fear region. A few updates:

• A 3.3.-mile section of Camden Road in the Hope Mills area is scheduled to be widened. The road falls between N.C. 59, aka Main Street, and a new interchange for the Fayetteville Outer Loop that will be built at Camden Road. “Most of this congested stretch has two travel lanes and an open center turn lane,” the DOT said in a release. “The project would widen the road to four lanes with a raised median, a move that would improve safety and traffic flow.”

We’ve got some time before things get going: The $29-million project is slated to begin in 2023. Preliminary designs are at the DOT website.

• DOT workers hope to finish rebuilding two bridges east of Fayetteville by the end of 2019, according to a news release. The Interstate 95 Business/U.S. 301 bridges were built in 1957 and time has caught up with them; the DOT considers them “functionally obsolete for today’s traffic.”

S.T. Wooten has the $4.9-million contract to complete the work. The DOT recommends the following detours: Northbound: Exit at Murphy Road to I-95 at Exit 55. Southbound: Take I-95 Exit 52B (N.C. 24) and travel to U.S. 301.

• The DOT is seeking the public’s input in changing two intersections along U.S. 74 in Robeson County. An open house is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Orrum Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. Residents can drop in at any time during that period to look at design plans and ask questions of transportation officials. The proposed project would convert two intersections of U.S. 74 into one interchange with an overpass and ramps, a news release said. The intersections at N.C. 72 and N.C. 130 are less than half a mile apart. “The project would allow NCDOT to continue upgrading U.S. 74 into future interstate standards,” the release said.

• A 48-year-old bridge that is part of Gurney West Road is due to be replaced in Moore County, the DOT said in a release. The current bridge “consists of three crossline drainage pipes” beneath the road, the DOT said. Those pipes will be replaced with a concrete, box-shaped culvert. The contractor, Smith Rowe of Mount Airy, will start work in mid-January when the road over Dry Creek will close. The project is expected to take five months.

Columnist Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

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